4 Years of Butter Be Kind: 4 Lessons From a Chemist Who Started With One Jar

Four years ago, Butter Be Kind was one body butter, one founder, and a problem I'd been living with since I was a kid. Today it's five formulas, two sets, a community that shows up to our pop-ups, and a home on Ulta.com. I'm Teja, a cosmetic chemist, and I was born with eczema. Here are the four biggest lessons from the last four years, plus a quick look at how we got here.

The short version: 2013 to now

• 2013: My first analytical chemistry lab at university. I thought: if I can do this, I can make something for my own skin. I've been formulating ever since.
• 2022: Butter Be Kind starts with Feeling Butter, our body butter. At a startup competition that year, I ate a scoop of it in front of the judges to prove what was in it. We won.
• The years in between: The line grew to five formulas: Feeling Butter, Dreamy Creamy, Oil Be There, What A Peeling and Forever You. We ran an independent consumer perception study, got to meet Richard Branson, and took Butter Be Kind to pop-ups from Astoria to Atlantic City.
• July 2026: Butter Be Kind launched on Ulta.com.

Lesson 1: Your own skin is the best brief

I grew up in Central Europe playing a lot of tennis, and hiding my arms and legs while I did it. My parents and I went from pharmacy to pharmacy. Nothing I tried felt like it was made for skin like mine.

That frustration became the brief. Every Butter Be Kind formula starts with one question: will this work on skin that reacts to everything? That's why Dreamy Creamy and Feeling Butter are fragrance-free, why What A Peeling uses cranberry seeds milled to a uniform size instead of jagged sugar, and why "will it sting?" is the first question we answer on every product page. Designing for the most sensitive skin in the room turns out to work for everyone else too.

Lesson 2: Proof beats promises

Skincare is full of adjectives. I wanted specifics. Eating Feeling Butter on stage was a proof point, not a stunt (please don't try it at home). It showed I knew exactly what was in the jar.

We kept going from there. We ran an independent perception study: 30 people used our products daily for 14 days and told us what they noticed. 85% reported less dryness, 92% reported more radiant-looking skin, and 88% reported a mood lift during application.* We name our ingredients, like Linden Sapwood Extract and upcycled cranberry seeds, instead of hiding behind "botanicals." If we can't show it, we don't say it.

Lesson 3: Fewer, better products

Four years in, we still only make five formulas. That's on purpose. Sensitive skin doesn't want a twelve-step routine. It wants the right few products in the right order. Oil Be There goes on your face, your body and your hair. What A Peeling exfoliates, cleanses and nourishes in one step. Every product we don't launch is one less thing for your skin to react to.

That matters most right now. When the heat comes on in fall, a simple routine works best. Resurface twice a week, moisturize daily, and seal with a rich butter while your skin is still damp from the shower.

Lesson 4: The community is the product, too

Our best product feedback didn't come from a lab. It came from a pop-up table, from someone rubbing Feeling Butter into the back of their hand and telling me what their skin has been through. Those conversations shaped our product pages, our FAQ, and which formulas we make next.

If you've messaged us, left a review, stopped by a pop-up, or given a jar to a friend with "difficult" skin, you built this with us. Thank you.

What's next

More of the same, done better: formulas made in-house by a chemist, clear answers about what's in them, and more chances to meet you in person. You can find us here at butterbekind.com and on Ulta.com.

Here's to year five. 🧈

Shop the line here.

Frequently asked questions

When was Butter Be Kind founded?

Butter Be Kind was founded in 2022 by Teja, a cosmetic chemist who has been formulating since 2013. The first product was Feeling Butter, a body butter for sensitive, dry and eczema-prone skin.

Who formulates Butter Be Kind products?

Every formula is developed in-house by founder Teja, a cosmetic chemist and biotechnologist with more than 12 years in cosmetic formulation, who has lived with eczema since birth.

Where can I buy Butter Be Kind?

Online at butterbekind.com and on Ulta.com.

Is Butter Be Kind good for sensitive skin?

Every product is formulated for sensitive, reactive and eczema-prone skin, and the line is vegan and cruelty-free. As with any new product, we recommend a patch test on your forearm 24 hours before first use.

*Independent consumer perception study, n=30, 14 days of daily use. Results are self-reported by participants.